Chapter 1 – Kyros the exiled

Kyros – POV

How to start this… My name is Kyros son of Zasha, Heir to the great house of Thorn.

I write this diary to remind me of who I am and who I used to be or maybe to show me who I will become. I was once the Heir to Matriarch Zasha of house Thorn, a powerful noble house in Drow society favoured by both the Empress and the royal court.

I however now walk the path of exile, day by day I travel further away from our great empire,

Further into the darkest corners of the earth. I am a scientist, a Warrior, a Sorcerer, some would even call me a visionary others would call me a failure all saw that I tried to change the world, But the world does not want to change. Change often causes chaos it disrupts the natural order and so the world lashes back with all its might.

But really what does it matter? What is done is done mistakes were made and there is no coming back from what I have done… somehow though I feel relieved. The burden of responsibility is lifted from my shoulders the future is now mine and mine alone to forge. I feel a rush of excitement as I write this. I now know that for the first time in my life I am free from the constraints of family or obligations of society my sole allegiance is to myself and myself alone.

Everyone else be damned…

Kyros finished the last words with a smile and started to put away his ink and quill after closing the book. He looked around his dark vision allowing him to see everything like it was day. If Kyros knew what the sun looked like that is. He had only ever read about it in some history books and journals from the house library. Though all he could think of was that someday he would explore the world above and see for himself if the world above truly had a cavern roof that shined blue like a sapphire and changed colours from day to night.

Kyros put those thoughts out of his mind he needed to continue he was eager to see what the lands beyond the Drow Empire looked like.

After a short walk Kyros started to see a light up ahead along with voices but they were to faint to he heard from this distance. Kyros decided that he required a better view to determine if they were friend or foe, he started to climb the cavern wall up to a ledge for a better look.

His eyes focused like a Wyvern searching for a prey. He could see 5 short broad-shouldered figures, they looked like Dwarfs but Dwarfs don’t live this far down so they must be Duergar.

The Duergar were sadistic cousins of the dwarfs they had dark skin and were filled to the brim with hatred. They liked to enslave and torture their victims their favourite torture device are hooks this has made them feared. By the other races even Drow are weary of these cruel creatures. Fortunately for Kyros there is a consensus between the Drow Empress and the Duergar king that trade between the two nations is not be disrupted by petty squabbles. So the Drow and Duergar have a mutual understanding. They are not to enslave or outright slaughter each other. However if a drow or Duergar is caught in the act of enslaving the other they are subject to whatever punishment the attacked party considers fair. This almost always ends in a gruesome death for the captured party.

Finishing his though Kyros attention turned towards the campfire the Duergar seemed to be roasting from what he could see was a humanoid leg. It is however not the thought of the Duergar eating a sentient that makes Kyros’s face turn in disgust, it was the smell he knew right away that the leg being roasted once belonged to a Drow.

“Fucking animals” Kyros mumbled under his breath. Kyros had only smelled roasted Drow once before on his father’s funeral. It was customary for the wife and children of the deceased to eat parts of the parents to honour him or her. Kyros had eaten his father’s brain so he would gain his wisdom, his sister had eaten his father’s kidney to gain resilience, his brother had eaten the father’s eyes to gain perception and clarity, and His mother had eaten the heart so he could continue loving her forever.

Kyros slowly started to move from ledge to ledge until he was close enough to hear the Duergar.

“Fucking weaklings these Drow why haven’t we crushed them yet like we did with the Gnomes?”

The other Duergar sliced of a piece from the leg and took a bite and spoke

“Our… chewing … Glorious king… Chewing… has grown weak I can’t wait until someone finally finishes the old fool off” The Duergars nods in agreement the conversation continues until the Duergar decide to retire for the night one stays up to guard the others while they sleep.

After waiting several hours Kyros sees the Duergar on watch finally fall asleep. Kyros slowly reaches for one of his Dark steel sabre by his waist. Kyros leaps from the ledge and while falling he whispers a spell under his breath “Feather fall” Kyros fall immediately starts to slow down and he touches the ground without a sound. He silently sneaks up to the Duergar on watch draws his sabre and puts one hand over the Duergars mouth while in quick succession stabbing his saber through the Duergars throat he gurgles in a minute of confusion before dying with blood running down his lips Kyros quietly puts the Duergar down so the other 4 Duergars do not wake from their slumber.

Kyros goes from Duergar to Duergar cutting their throats its easy work for someone who has been trained from birth in the art of death like Kyros. Without such training an heir of a great house in drow society would be easy pickings for the other houses.

.

Kyros finds what is left of the Drow the Duergars had been eating seems like they had kept the poor sod alive so the meat would not turn foul. Kyros admires the Duergars handiwork for a moment before stepping over to the Duergar corpses. They seemed to be outlaws most likely why they did not care much for the Duergar King or the Drow Empresses wishes.

They were however carrying something ordinary to the average Duergar but it would be much more valuable to Kyros. It was a map of the Duergar underway Kyros now knew exactly where he was and how to navigate this unknown terrain.

Kyros slowly studied the map “Seems like I’m right on the crossroads between the Drow and Duergar empires. I don’t really fancy spending any time with the smelly and unsophisticated Duergar and I can’t go home that means I take the third option the Red Badlands”

The Red Badlands was full of nasty creatures and it was also largely left unexplored because of it.

It would be the best location for Kyros to make his new home away from the prying eyes of civilisation. After Kyros had thrown the bloody corpses into a nearby chasm Kyros sat looking into the burning embers until he grew tired and slept for tomorrow would be the first day of his new life.